To preserve freedom and for no other purpose the people of the United States created agovernment under our Constitution. They realized that no simple democracycould long survive the lure of political demagogues leading to the dictator, and they deliberately limited the power of their government and divided it into three separate parts:legislative, executive, and judicial. This was intended to be a check on eachdepartment so that no one of them mightbecome supreme: The purpose of the Constitution was not toconvey rights to individual citizens, but tospecify the limitations imposed by free citizens on government.

Back to Our American Heritage Library